The hydrolysis of organic halides is an important source of alcohols and, in some cases, phenols. For example, the hydrolysis of secondary and tertiary alkyl halides, generally readily available via addition of a hydrogen halide to olefins, is a principal source of alcohols, and hydrolysis of some activated aryl halides similarly afford phenols.
Where the halide is water-insoluble an organic cosolvent often is employed in the hydrolysis procedure. But the use of an organic cosolvent often is procedurally inconvenient and is sometimes accompanied by side reactions which appreciably decrease the amount of alcohol or phenol formed. There is, therefore, an impetus for a hydrolytic process which is homogeneous and which avoids the disadvantages attending use of a cosolvent.